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Wine industry unpacks growth drivers

How can the South African wine industry evolve to address ever changing consumer trends, climatic conditions, economic and political realities? The Growing Together theme of the next Nedbank VinPro Information Day will unpack the approach needed to drive profitability, global competitiveness and sustainability going forward.

The event will take place on 18 January 2018 from 09:00 – 14:00 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).

VinPro MD Rico Basson will benchmark the South African wine industry’s progress against set targets in the annual State of the Industry report. From an outline of the season to expectations of the 2018 wine grape harvest and new technological developments, VinPro consultation service manager Francois Viljoen will cover all things vine-related.

Looking forward and working back to factors affecting wine consumption today, Lulie Halstead will provide a forecast of global trends and the drivers of success in the main consumption markets to 2030. She is CEO of Wine Intelligence, a leading global market research and strategy consultancy that collects consumer and trade insights in over 30 key wine consumption markets.

What will it take to raise the South African wine industry to the next level? Mike Ratcliffe, MD of Warwick Estate and co founder of US/SA venture Vilafonté, will share perspectives on the local market, innovation, marketing and business models.

On the economic front, Isaac Matshego, economist in the Economic Unit of Nedbank Group Ltd will provide a forecast of the trends that will impact on the industry next year, and political analyst Max du Preez will shed some light on the political climate and effect on the agricultural sector.

The 2018 conference will mark Nedbank’s 12th year as name sponsor, with Old Mutual and Old Mutual Insure Agri involved as an additional sponsor. Daneel Rossouw, Nedbank’s divisional manager for agriculture in the Western Cape says, “Nedbank’s relationship with the wine industry has been recognised and reciprocated. We believe it is mutually beneficial to grow the economy and create jobs in the Western Cape and South Africa.

“As money experts and as a sponsor, Nedbank is keen, in line with our strategic intent to partner with small, medium and large enterprises in the agricultural and other sectors, to ensure growth for a greater South Africa. VinPro provides invaluable networking opportunities for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, while sharing innovative solutions to some of the challenges facing the industry,” adds Rossouw.

VinPro members register at R650* per person and non-members at R950 per person.